A Jeannette woman who drove for National Express Transit and the Westmoreland County Transit Authority is suing both, alleging race discrimination and a hostile work environment.

Ashley Oliver, who is Black, began working for the Illinois-based transit company in June 2019. Her employment then switched to the transit authority in early 2020 after it canceled its contract with the company.

Oliver contends in her federal lawsuit that white co-workers were treated more leniently and regularly given more hours and preferential shifts than Black employees.

“The course of conduct exhibited by defendants during plaintiff’s employment demonstrated favoritism of less-experienced, poor performing employees of the Caucasian race and discrimination against plaintiff and other employees on the basis of their African American race,” the lawsuit states.

Messages left with National Express and the authority were not immediately returned.

According to the complaint, Oliver took leave in August 2019 to undergo gastric bypass surgery. Although she was medically cleared to return to work two weeks later, the defendants refused to allow her back for two additional weeks, the lawsuit said.

“However, a similarly situated Caucasian employee with less seniority was provided with ‘light duty’ restrictions, and therefore was able to return to work more quickly,” the lawsuit said.

The complaint also alleges that the company’s dispatcher monitored and corrected Oliver’s time punches more strictly than white employees and that white drivers got preferential treatment in scheduling for both hours and shifts.

In one instance, a white employee who was still listed as being in training was scheduled for two runs at the same time, the lawsuit said.

When Oliver raised the issue to a supervisor and offered to take one of the runs, the supervisor refused. Instead, the supervisor removed the white employee’s training designation, allowed that person to work both runs and scheduled an additional day of work, the complaint said.

“Thereafter, plaintiff continued to be scheduled for less hours than her Caucasian co-workers,” the lawsuit said.

Within a few weeks of the transit authority taking over operations, the lawsuit said, Oliver and a co-worker had multiple meetings with their union representative expressing concerns that white employees were receiving favoritism in scheduling.

Then, on Feb. 12 as Oliver reported for work, she was met by the safety supervisor and general manager and taken to a meeting with human resources, and three union officials. They told her they had received a complaint from a run she completed on Feb. 4 and played a 50-minute video recording of her route.

According to the lawsuit, Oliver said she strapped in a passenger using a wheelchair with two straps instead of three because of the type of wheelchair used and because the woman had multiple bags on her lap at the time.

Further, the lawsuit said, the passenger failed to apply the brake, “which caused her chair to move slightly during the trip.

“Ultimately, plaintiff transported the patient home without incident,” the lawsuit said.

However, Oliver was fired following the meeting.

“A similarly situated Caucasian employee — who had previously caused a patient to tip over as a result of failing to strap in the patient — was rehired and retrained,” the complaint said.

In addition, Oliver said that employee had a negative work history with multiple accidents and call-offs. Another white driver, who fell asleep behind the wheel, was also retained without discipline, the lawsuit said.

National Express Transit had operated the authority’s fixed-route system since 2010. They signed a $39.5 million, five-year contract in 2018. Soon thereafter, the authority complained of management issues leading to driver shortages, maintenance failures and route cancellations.

In the summer of 2019, county commissioners and the authority’s board voted to change its charter, allowing it to operate on its own.

The system carries about 500,000 passengers annually. The paratransit system provided door-to-door rides for 195,000 seniors, low-income and disabled passengers in 2017.

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